Page 7 of Someone Like You
“Yes.” The man chuckled. “I’ll send you an email with the details. You’ll work in the contact exhibits, where patrons interact with the animals. Our kangaroos and baby goats, primarily. Oh … and we just received twin leopard cubs. Sisters.” He had a smile in his voice. “You might even get to feed them, if you’d like that.”
“Yes, sir!” Maddie couldn’t believe this. “Thank you! That would be incredible.” She did a silent dance, her finger still in her free ear. “I won’t let you down, sir.”
When the call ended Maddie raised her hands over her head and ran in place. Then she came to a sudden stop and stood there. Completely still. What had just happened? Had she really just been hired by the Indianapolis Zoo? More than a thousand applicants from across the nation and the world had applied to work in the zoo’s contact department.
It was the perfect job. And now it was hers, minutes after graduation!
Maddie glanced up at the packed stands. Her parents were up there somewhere, excited for her, praying for her. Also her sister and grandparents and Connor Flanigan.
Of course, Connor.
They’d all flown in together and last night at the hotel, Maddie and her mom had talked till after midnight about Maddie’s memories from college, her relationship with Connor and her dream of working at the Indianapolis Zoo.
That most of all.
She shaded her eyes. Wherever they were, they could probably see her. The zebra-striped cap would’ve made it easy. Her friends had moved on and Maddie jostled her way through the crowd to the spot where she and her family had agreed to meet.
Five minutes later she saw them, the people who mattered to her the most. She ran to her mom first and then Connor and her dad. Her grandparents took her in their arms after that and before anyone could say another word, Maddie stepped back, arms stretched out. “I got it!”
“You did?” Her mother clearly knew instantly what Maddie was talking about. “The job at the zoo?”
“Yes!” Maddie did a twirl, her arms still out to her sides. “I start the first of June.”
Connor came to her and pulled her into a hug. He was tall and strong and other than her mother, he was her best friend in all the world. He easily swung her around and set her down again. “I knew you’d get it!” He kissed her forehead. “God is so good.”
“He is.” For just a moment, Maddie let herself get lost in Connor’s eyes. She could see forever there. A different smile tugged at her lips, one for him alone. “Thanks for coming.”
“I wouldn’t have missed it.” He took a step back. “Plus your mom is hilarious going through security.”
Maddie laughed. It was true. One time on vacation her mother had been thoroughly screened for having four pairs of scissors in her carry-on bag. Four pairs. Turned out she was giving them to an orphanage in Mexico. Lately it had been her unmarked container of erythritol, a powdered sugar substitute.
She turned to her mother. “You didn’t bring the erythritol, did you?”
“I did. I need it for my coffee.” Her mom raised her eyebrows and gave a nervous laugh. “And yes … on the way here TSA thought it was ‘suspicious.’ I delayed us ten minutes.”
“Again.” Maddie’s dad chuckled. “Between the scissors, the bag of sweetener, her collagen protein powder, the vitamins and coconut oil, TSA is pretty sure she’s up to no good.”
Her mom grinned. “I like my routines.”
The group drove through crowded streets to McAlister’s Deli. Once they were seated, Maddie opened her phone to a congratulations message from her grandparents on her dad’s side. The couple worked at a church in Ireland, so Maddie rarely saw them. But they were family all the same.
After that she told everyone about her job at the zoo. “Can you believe I get to feed baby leopards?” The giddy feeling from earlier hadn’t worn off. Connor sat beside her and while she talked he took her hand.
Only she didn’t want to hold hands. She wanted to tell stories about the zoo and TCU and her final semester before graduation. Without making a big deal of it she eased her hand free and shot a quick smile in his direction.
Then she picked up where she’d left off. “The cubs were just transferred to the zoo. They’re twin sisters.” Maddie smiled at Hayley. “And everyone knows sisters are the best.”
Hayley reached across the table and took hold of Maddie’s fingers for a few seconds. “Yay for sisters!”
Not till they were on the plane that evening headed back to Indiana with Connor asleep beside her did Maddie take a deep breath. What was that whole hand-holding ordeal? She glanced at her boyfriend. The two of them were in love. They had been for the last few years.
So why hadn’t she wanted to hold his hand?
She stared at the stars outside her window. Maybe she and Connor needed a break. Maybe they were too serious, too connected, too often. This past semester they had talked on FaceTime nearly every day. It was a lot, and once in a while she had told Connor so. They’d go a few weeks with less conversation and then the calls would pick up again.
Maddie blinked. A break from Connor? What was she thinking? She loved Connor. He was probably the one she would love forever. The incident earlier must’ve been just the busyness of school. She relaxed her head against the seat rest.
Yes, that had to be it.
